IBEAST: Thank you for taking time out to chop it up with me.
LUCIUS: How has everything been going for you?
IBEAST: MAN, I can’t complain… I’m blessed
LUCIUS: Before we go into anything else, I wanted to talk about your monster of a mixtape. How does it feel to not only be well past 4,000 downloads, 8,000 views on Datpiff.com, and even a shout out from Big K.R.I.T. How does that feel?
IBEAST: All I can say is God is good! My brother Dustin asked me if I thought I could sell 100 tapes in the first month; that was an eye opener because I never thought of it in that light. I always see people on Datpiff.com with maybe 6-20 downloads and I honestly didn’t know if I could even get to 100 downloads, let alone 100 sells. The day it dropped, the tape actually hit 100 downloads with in the first 2 hours… it was crazy. K.R.I.T. showing love was just icing on the cake, ya dig? Just notification that I need to keep going
LUCIUS: What was your mindset after being mentioned and shown some sort of recognition by K.R.I.T.?
IBEAST: My mindset was money first and money last, ya dig?. But on some real shit, it was like two in the morning when I got the notification and it was crazy. This enormous wave of emotion swept over me and I ran upstairs, woke up my lady and told her the news. I actually lost my voice because I was yelling so loud.
LUCIUS: Pimp Said So: The 1st Supper is the name of the project in question that is being received so well. What inspired the title? Did the title come first of did the music?
IBEAST: The title was originally going to be Pimp C Said: The First Supper but I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers by using Pimp’s name in my title without permission. I actually called Rap-A Lot Records a couple times and left messages in order to use the name but I didn’t receive any feedback. But the title was just what it says. Pimp requested that rappers in the South put more social commentary in our music and so I feel like I just wanted to honor that request. Hence the name, Pimp Said So: The 1st Supper. The title came before most of the music.
LUCIUS: In much the same way, what was your mindset as you started recording?
IBEAST: I just wanted to give my fans the most complete and quality product I could afford to put together. I’ve been doing music for going on five years now and this is my FIRST official project! I even took a 2 year break with in that time period and my fan base still stuck with me, so I just wanted to give them something they could hold on to.
LUCIUS: I have been listening to the mixtape pretty heavy since I downloaded it. A favorite track of mine is “Cardiac”. Are there any tracks that stand out to you or are favorites?
IBEAST: “Cardiac” is one of them, but I really dig “Hakunamatata“, “Failproof“, “Real For Y’all“, and “Lookin Shife”.
LUCIUS: I also loved “Happy Place”. What can you tell me the featured artist India Catrice?
IBEAST: She is just a wonderful talent I stumbled upon at work through a co-worker! She is also an up and coming artist looking to work with other up and coming artists, ya dig? Her voice is reminiscent of the greats from back in the day. I cannot believe I was blessed enough to come across her! But everything happens for a reason.
LUCIUS: Speaking of featured artists, which artists were your favorites to work with?
IBEAST: My favorite artists to work with all of them, honestly. Everybody brought something different to the table that took this project to the next level.
LUCIUS: Moving beyond the mixtape for a second, tell me a bit about your stage name.
IBEAST: (laughs) it’s funny that you ask. Originally my name was supposed to just be Beast (I always called myself that since I was a youngster way before rap). I put the Spanish exclamation marks in order to make it more dramatic but people kept calling me iBeast so I just went with it. But I consider myself a beast because of the things I’ve endured.
LUCIUS: On your Facebook, I hear you talk a lot about the New GA. Explain that a little bit.
IBEAST: “What’s understood ain’t gotta be explained“ (like my big brother Rob say). GA is becoming known for bullshit mainstream music, studio thugs, and basically all the wrong things. There is a bunch of flexing going on with little truth.New GA is a movement dedicated to making it popular to tell the truth in music and in life.
LUCIUS: Are there other artists that you consider a part of this “New GA”?
IBEAST: India Catrice, FAME, South Johansson, GA Slique, J3, Robert Jeter, there are others we just have to make them official.
LUCIUS: So do you have a team that your are working with or a part of?
IBEAST: I’m with Luxury Committee, I’m with New GA, and I’m with MMI (me, myself, and I)
LUCIUS: What is your personal stance on hip-hop today? Is it good or bad? Why?
IBEAST: I think hip-hop can be and is good depending on where you listen. I’m not a BIG hip-hop fan but I love that they speak on real shit and that they stay true to their genre. I think its pathetic that Kendrick Lamar had to make a diss song about other rappers in order to rekindle hip-hop. If I gotta hate on my colleagues in order to come up, then fuck it… I guess I aint coming up.
LUCIUS: Based on your sound and your mixtape, I can see that you are inspired by Southern hip-hop legends like Pimp C, Bun B, and other contemporaries. But is there anyone who’s rapping right now that you admire?
IBEAST: Curren$y, KRIT, Z-RO, Paul Wall, Tech N9ne. There are others but I cant remember right now, I’m gone off a red cup.
LUCIUS: Are there any artists you’d like to work with, new or old?
IBEAST: Bun B, Big K.R.I.T., Curren$y, Scotty ATL, Killer Mike, Rich Boy, Gucci Mane, OJ Da Juiceman, Anthony Hamilton, D’Angelo, Adele, and Creed among others
LUCIUS: So after the success of this mixtape, what’s the next move?
IBEAST: I plan on pushing this tape for the next 8 months, then start marketing for my ALBUM. But before my album I have projects coming up with J3, Kobee Kobain, Pha’rii Phorm, and Craig Butcher (a country singer) among others.
LUCIUS: Anything you want to touch on that we haven’t discussed?
IBEAST: I just want people to know that I relate to them. I know y’all can’t relate to all this bullshit on the radio talking about million dollar houses and $300k cars. Therefore I make music for regular lower and middle class people. I haven’t met one person who didn’t like this tape!
LUCIUS: Are there any last shout outs that you want to give?
IBEAST: My cousin Tory, my cousin Isreal Simmons, my lady, all the people from Hip Hop Shit Talkers Facebook group, Jeremy Dean Jackson, and many others.
LUCIUS: How can people keep up with you, your music, and the New GA?
IBEAST: Twitter: @Ibeast85
Facebook fan page: facebook.com/pages/iBeast
Youtube: Ibeast!
Blog: Thejourneyofabeast.blogspot.com
Website: Coming Soon
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